Barbados
by summerstwilight
Summary: Jack knows she can't stay, but he can't let her go. EJ, JackPearl


Title: Barbados  
Rating: PG  
Feedback: feedback is an author's bread and butter  
Pairings: E/J, Jack/Pearl  
Summary: Jack knows she can't stay, but he can't let her go.

"You knew it wouldn't work, love. You had to."

"Don't send me away, Jack, please." Elizabeth clutched his hands tightly. Jack wouldn't look at her; he just looked off, in the distance. "It's that girl, isn't it? That girl we picked up a few days ago."

"Lizzie, I—"

"No, Jack, no, I'm not listening to you, I'm not." Elizabeth pulled her hands back, curling in on herself, her hands over her ears, her eyes glued to the cabin floor.

"Lizzie" Jack said gently "You're acting like a child."

"I don't _care_."

"Lizzie, you don't understand everything. You never could. It's why I didn't want to take you on in the first place."

"Just because she isn't as scrawny as I am, and she has black hair and she's willing to do anything for you. So am I? What kind of a name does she have anyway? Pearl. I'd wager she's a prostitute's daughter, if she isn't one herself. You have a governor's daughter, who _came_ to you, _asked_ for you, and you're willing to throw her away."

"Elizabeth!" Jack reached out and shook the girl. She felt bone thin to him, and her hair flung wildly about her face. This was not the girl who stowed away on the Black Pearl six months ago. She was being eaten by this life, his life. "Elizabeth, have you been eating?"

"Couldn't stomach it." She mumbled. Several reasons ran through Jack's mind, and he glanced down at her stomach. "I'm not pregnant Jack, that much I know."

"Not for lack of trying, love." He was rewarded with a half-hearted smack across the face. "That's it; we're dropping you off at the next port. You need a doctor, if nothing else."

"I'm fine."

"Elizabeth Swann, stop acting like a spoiled child. That's all there is to it. We'll throw you off the ship if necessary."

"Jack Sparrow you are without a doubt the worst pirate I have ever known!" Elizabeth got up and slammed the door in his face. Jack slumped back down into his chair. He felt two hands snake around his neck, and he leaned back into Pearl's arms.

"You know that was the hardest thing I've had to do, Pearl. Everything I've been through and done and seen and some scrap of a girl comes along and gives me pause."

"You know she's lying to you, Jack."

"What?" Jack sat back up, opening his eyes and whirling around to face her. "Lizzie wouldn't lie."

"To stay here she would. She needs to be at home, or your son isn't going to make it."

"So- son?" Jack sputtered. He looked Pearl square in the eye. She simply nodded her head, a faint smile on her face.

"Son. She's three months along, and is able to lie to herself so far that it's nothing."

"Why wouldn't she tell me?"

"Because if you realized too late you couldn't put her off anywhere. And she's love the sea as much as she loves you."

"Pearl, I have to get her to shore."

"Don't want a screaming child aboard?" Pearl looked amused as she dropped into a seat.

"It's not necessarily that."

"I'm not as possessive as the sea, Jack. I would let you go for a short while. She won't."

"I spent ten years looking for you Pearl; ye think I'd give that up for some child and his mother? He can't be my first."

"No, he isn't. But he is the first one whose mother you've loved. You have to send her away, Jack."

"I suppose you're right, I just-" Jack stopped mid sentence as the door came crashing through. A very guilty and angry Elizabeth crashed through with it. "Lizzie!"

"I knew it! I knew it!" she shrieked. "I knew it was her. Well, Jack Sparrow, if you think you can cast me aside like some… some _whore_, you're wrong! I'm-"

"Lizzie, let me-"

"No!"

"Elizabeth, please." Pearl said quietly from her seat at Jack's table.

"Oh, I hardly think I'll be listening to _you_." Elizabeth spat. "How do you know my name, anyway?"

"You're all Jack talks about. He's quite taken with you. Almost as taken with you as he is with me and my sister."

"_And_ her sister! Jack Sparrow you are incorrigible!" She reached out to slap him across the face. Jack caught her by the wrist and nearly pulled her off balance. "Wretch! Let me go!" Elizabeth struggled, but she was too weak and too tired to put up much of a fight.

"Elizabeth! Sit down, _please_." Jack's tone was half way between command and plea. Elizabeth tossed her head proudly and sat with as much dignity as though she were in front of the king himself.

"Well, Mister Sparrow? I doubt you can explain yourself."

Jack turned around, pulling at his hair, frustration radiating from him. "Elizabeth, it's rather hard to explain."

"Harder to explain then undead pirates and demon monkeys?" Elizabeth asked, her voice dry, her eyes piercing with anger and hurt.

"I suppose not. You've somewhat met Pearl. Pearl… I met Pearl when I was 14."

"She hardly looks older then I am."

"Oh, but I am, Elizabeth." The queer, serene smile never left Pearl's face. "You see, I've been with Jack, oh, 20 years isn't it, Jack?"

"About, love." The look he gave her made Elizabeth's insides knot up until she felt she wouldn't be able to breathe.

"Oh I see." She said quietly. "You could have told me Jack. I would have stayed with Will. I would have."

"No you wouldn't have, love. You would have stowed away on the Black Pearl and never given it a second thought. You really are a pirate, love." Jack gave her a softer smile, the kind he used to give her when they were in his cabin and the candlelight was softly illuminating his face, the kind that made her feel safe.

"I suppose I am, Jack. But that doesn't explain why you have three women at once." Elizabeth's tone had gradually shifted from angry to tired. She was berating herself for ever thinking she could hold and capture the pirate. He had stolen her heart without a second thought and who was to argue, but his heart didn't exist. He simply went from woman to woman.

"That's not true, Elizabeth." Pearl said, her voice as soft as the sea.

"Wh-what?"

"He does have a heart, and you have part of it, as do I, as does my sister. That he could love the three of us almost equally shows what kind of man he is."

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"I've heard you say it out loud, in your cabin, when you cried yourself to sleep at night, and when you watch the sunrise, and when you found you were carrying his child."

Elizabeth went pale with shock. "Who are you?"

"Have you not guessed?" Pearl gestured to herself. She had long, black hair that hung down her back, and piercing gray eyes like a stormy sea. Her dress was simple, yet somehow fit with the ship. The ship…

"The Black Pearl?" Elizabeth whispered. Pearl nodded. "How-"

"I told you it was hard to explain, love." Jack said. "Pearl came to me when I was a lad, on one of the other ships."

"I found him as I was looking at the other ships in the area. He was the only boy who I could trust, mainly because he was as lost as I was."

"If- if you're the personification of this ship, then who is your sister?"

"My lady." Jack said simply. "She is the one who rocked me to sleep, who claimed me even before Pearl. She's always looked out for me. She and death have fought for me more then I can count."

"You've heard her call, Elizabeth. It was part of the reason you came on board."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm sorry, I just… I can't think of you as this ship, and I can't… I can't think."

"Elizabeth." Jack walked over to her, crouched in front of her and took her hands gently. "Pearl and Marina are my ladies, my lovers. They captured my heart long ago. I can't give you what you need." He rested his hand on her stomach. "Is it true?" Elizabeth nodded silently, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "Then he will be there for you. He will give you what I could not, and you will love him."

"And we will watch over you." Pearl had walked over to her and cupped her hand under Elizabeth's chin.

"In any other place, any other time, I would stay with you." Elizabeth whispered.

"I know love." Jack felt the tears slide down his own cheeks, the moisture unfamiliar.

"Oh, Jack, don't cry. Please." Elizabeth begged through her tears. "I won't be able to leave if you do."

"We're close to Port Royal. Shall we drop you there?"

"No." Elizabeth said suddenly. "Barbados. I have a cousin there."

"And she will care for your son?" Jack questioned.

"She hasn't heard from me in so long. And she knows I loved a sailor. She will not question me, nor write to Father if I ask her not to."

"Barbados, then. We'll have a few days then."

"To say goodbye."

"To say goodbye." Jack echoed.

A/N: Okay, I know some people have been confused by Pearl and her "sister." Pearl is the personification of the Black Pearl, and her "sister" is the sea itself. I know that didn't come across clearly at all, and if anyone has any tips on how to make that more clear, I would be very appreciative.


End file.
